I’ve never really been a fan of runner games, truth be told. They’re something to amuse myself in the short term, but over the stretch they’re just not that great. I’ve reviewed a few of them for the 3DS eShop over my time, and they all had their charms. They were cute and I had fun, but I’m not the type of person that just needs to best my personal high score over and over.
Well, Nintendo is joining the mobile runner genre with a new Mario game in the works.
At an Apple event in San Francisco, CA earlier today, Nintendo announced they are planning just such a runner in Super Mario Run, a full-sized Super Mario Bros. action platformer that has been developed specifically for mobile, and will be available first on the App Store this December.
Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto took the stage at the event and put Mario through his paces in a multi-level demonstration. In the game, Mario runs forward on his own, but relies on the touch of a single finger to jump over obstacles, avoid enemies and capture the flag pole to complete levels.
“We have created Super Mario Run to be perfect for playing on your iPhone,” said Mr. Miyamoto , who first devised the Mario character more than 35 years ago. “Super Mario has evolved whenever he has encountered a new platform, and for the first time ever, players will be able to enjoy a full-fledged Super Mario game with just one hand, giving them the freedom to play while riding the subway or my favorite, eating a hamburger.”
Super Mario Run will have a mode in which the player collects coins and heads for the goal, and a mode in which the player competes against the acrobatic moves of other people who have completed the same course. There will also be a mode in which you create your own Mushroom Kingdom based upon these play results.
iOS users will be able to download and enjoy a portion of Super Mario Run for free and will be able to enjoy all of the game content available in this release after paying a set purchase price. More details on that are coming at a later date.
The game has been developed with Mr. Miyamoto as lead creator for Nintendo. Nintendo is also continuing its partnership with DeNA for the launch of Super Mario Run. It will be offered on the App Store this December in more than 100 different countries, and nine different languages.
To help iOS users get ready for the launch of Super Mario Run, a free Mario-themed sticker pack for the App Store for iMessage will launch this month. iMessage users can easily access and use these stickers in a variety of ways, bringing a bit of Mushroom Kingdom flavor to their conversations.
Super Mario Run represents the next phase of Nintendo’s expansion to mobile platforms, following the release of Miitomo earlier this year.
After the launch of Super Mario Run in December, Nintendo plans to deliver its previously announced mobile device titles in the Animal Crossing and Fire Emblem series before the end of March 2017.
As someone who has an Android device and no iDevices, I hope that not only does the game come to Android very shortly thereafter but also that future games are released on both platforms simultaneously.
